The Awakening
by Oldest Soul
Summary: Stronger than Zeus, more feared than Ares, and with a lust for power rivalled only by that of Gaea herself. The doctrine of Nyx has begun, and no mere mortal can stop her now.
1. Prophecy

**I am way too old for this.**

**and so I present to you, the greatest feat of noobishness I have ever attempted**

**enjoy. review. thank you.**

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NICO

"Fifth Cohort, CHARGE!" Hazel's voice rang out through the woods, and Nico clutched his Stygian iron sword. He shared a glance with Will Solace whose straw colored hair glinted in the moonlight.

"Apollos, Hephaestuses, Nikes, Hadeses, get ready. Here they come!"

Arion was a gold flash shooting over the river and Hazel an armored blur on his back. She came up behind Nico but he was ready as the tip of her gold spatha met his sword, sending sparks flying in the night.

"We will prevail!" Hazel called to her fellow legionnaires, "Rome forever!"

"Rome forever!" her cohort echoed enthusiastically as the two forces met. Nico grinned, the white of his teeth flashing.

"Don't bet on it, sis. You'll never capture our flag!"

"We'll see about that." Hazel replied smugly, "Our Fourth Cohort has already overrun your Aphrodites and Hermeses, and the First is working on Ares and Tyche right now. We'll be parading your flag around in no time."

"I forgot." Nico smirked as her spatha nicked him on the cheek, "You don't know Clarisse, do you?"

"I guess no one told you." Hazel replied, equally confidently, "Reyna's leading the First Cohort."

Well, that was a bit of a problem, but Nico wouldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing he was bothered by it. Instead, he melted into the shadows to come up behind Arion.

It was the strangest feeling. Normally shadow-travelling was a cinch, but this time it felt funny, like a magnetic pull underground, straight towards. . .

_No_. Nico shook off his suspicions as he dodged Hazel's stab. _That's not possible. _He was just imagining it.

_Finally,_ a hit on Hazel's thigh.

"That hurt!" his sister exclaimed good-naturedly, retaliating with a slash to his helmet, "Oh," she added, "And I bet you didn't know that Jason's in charge of the Second."

"Well try Annabeth and Tyson's strategic planning and peanut-butter sandwich bombs." Nico encouraged, "And before you ask, Calypso's in leading all the nymphs and satyrs. Percy's with them, and Coach Hedge, too."

"I'm sure Frank will have his work cut out for him." Hazel allowed as Arion danced and their swords met again.

"Fire in the hole!" shrieked a familiar voice and a half dozen small explosions lit the night, courtesy of the Hephaestus cabin. "Whooo baby!"

"Nice going, Valdez!" Nico called.

"That's me, Bad Boy Supreme!" Leo flashed him a thumbs up before turning back to direct his siblings.

"Hey, Death Boy, a little help over here?"

"Will, that you?" Nico asked. The speaker had better hope he was Will Solace, because Will Solace was the only person who had the green light to call him 'Death Boy'. Anyone else who tried might find themselves with the nickname Dead Boy instead.

"Yeah, it's me and I could really use some of your skele-bros over here!" Will answered, fending off four Roman soldiers and looking a tad strained.

"On it!" Nico promised, calling up four skeletons in what looked to be pro boxing paraphernalia; gloves, and all. Sure enough, the four zombie heavyweights set upon the enemy Romans mercilessly, someone's nose erupting in a fountain of blood.

Again, Nico felt a twinge of uneasiness calling up the dead, as if they were reluctant to rise from the underworld. Again, he shook off the feeling; he was just being paranoid.

Hazel had now drawn blood from a cut on Nico's sword arm, and he was backed up against a tree, nowhere to run. Not that running against the fastest horse on earth would do much for him anyway.

Forced to retreat, Nico melted once more into the darkness

RACHEL

In the early morning hours of June fifteenth, Rachel Elizabeth Dare sat bolt upright in her bed. The moonlight poured in through the skylight of the attic, casting a blueish glow over the floor.

The Oracle stirred. Rachel felt it, a writhing mass, right where her heart was. And she felt it rising, saw the first curl of green smoke on her breath.

And the Oracle took over.

WILL

Will's first thought when he was awoken by the creak of the Apollo cabin door opening was _Monster!_

And then he remembered that he was in Camp Half-Blood, and that no monster he knew gave off green smoke like Rachel did.

The glowing display on the alarm clock next to him read 4:41 am and Will sighed, wondering why the Oracle couldn't wait until a more reasonable hour of the morning.

Rachel waited by the door, shrouded in silence and green smoke.

Will waited silently for one of his siblings to get up and address the issue. When none were forthcoming, continuing to sleep on, Will grumbled and got up.

The tile flooring was cold on his bare feet as Will shuffled to Rachel. After ensuring his attention, she retreated outside, and he followed.

By the marble wall of the cabin, Rachel stopped and turned to him. Will did not mention the time of night as he would have liked to, as the Oracle of Delphi was of Apollo, and to annoy her would be to annoy his father as well. And so he waited politely.

There was no suspense, no ceremony. It was all very abrupt. Rachel's mouth dropped open unnaturally, a thick veil of smoke following.

_"For Rome, for Greece, for gods, for earth_

_ Beware the dark, avenge the hearth_

_ By death, by scorn will heroes fall_

_ Or night and strife envelop all."_

And with that Rachel's mouth snapped shut, cutting off the green flow. Will wrapped his hand around her arm as her eyes rolled back, knowing she was about to fall. He sat her on the ground until Rachel returned to her own mind, eyes their usual blue shade when opened again.

She blinked, coughed once, looked around at the setting, and then to Will. "Prophecy?" she asked, as if this was a common nightly occurrence.

"Yup," he answered, "We're going to Chiron."

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**I know the prophecy sucks ass, apologies.**

**-oldsoul**


	2. Abduction

**omg hades pov was really fun to write**

**enjoy. review. thank you.**

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HADES

Empire State Building. Floor six-hundred. Twelve thrones sat in a semicircle, lavishly adorned and each one occupied by a regal being similarly decorated. Behind the two biggest and ornate thrones was a stone-cold fireplace, char scattering the hearth.

In the lobby, an aging security guard sat behind a desk. He looked up at the man before him, dark-haired and heavy-eyed.

"There are only 103 stories in the Empire State Building, sir, you must be mistaken." The security guard turned back to his desk.

The dark man tapped a finger on the counter. He spoke softly. "If you do not wish this building and everyone in it to enter my realm presently, you will give me a key to Olympus. If you speak with my brother I am sure he will tell you he has been expecting me."

In the ornate room, there entered a thirteenth god. A wave of the long fingers he brought his throne, which had not left the Underworld for millennia.

"You choose your guards well, Zeus. He is good." Hades remarked favorably. "Annoying, but good."

"You are not here to discuss something so trivial." Hera spoke up sharply. She perched delicately on her chair, clad in the shimmering blue of a peacock. Several of the others murmured in agreement.

"I should hope not." Hades bared his teeth in something that may or may not have been a cold mockery of a smile. "I haven't set foot on Olympus since before it relocated. I believe . . . I shall quite enjoy it."

"Is that a threat, Hades?" the rumbling voice of Ares reached him, and the smoldering pits that were his eyes met the deep caverns that were Hades'. "Do you wish to challenge us for your right to live here?"

"Not a threat, young one, merely a compliment. Must you always be so eager for a fight?"

"Only a fool would let his guard down around you, dearest brother." Demeter sniffed, shooting him a glance. She had never forgiven him for Persephone's abduction. But what could he say? The girl was pretty.

Zeus, Hades noticed, had not yet spoken, but remained quietly seated on his throne. His fingertips crackled with lightning. This was not a good sign.

"I assure you that I take good care of your daughter," He began, "She is –"

"ENOUGH!"

Ah, there was the explosion he had been waiting for.

Zeus pointed accusingly at a spot between Hades' eyes. "What have you done with her?!"

"We-e-e-ll." Hades coughed, "Last night we had dinner together. Persephone really is a great cook and –"

"IDIOT!" Zeus roared, still pointing, "Not Persephone! _Hestia! _You've stolen her!"

For the first time, Hades realized what the cold ashes in the fireplace meant. "I have done no such thing." He was deadly serious.

"Lies!" Aphrodite started forward, anger marring her beauty.

"Why would I steal Hestia?" Hades asked blankly, forgetting to be sly and condescending as he usually was. "I am not a cruel god, Zeus." He raised an eyebrow, "And I am not stupid; I would like to avoid war with the twelve of you, please and thank you. I am merely the god of the Underworld." This was met with silent thought as Hades continued. "For others, they are all one and the same. Ruler of the dead, who does things out of spite. Oh—what's his name?"

"Satan." Ares supplied, then looked embarrassed for knowing such a thing and busied himself with a bit of dirt under his fingernail.

"Yes, thank you." Hades nodded. "I am not the entity Satan. I am Hades."

"I agree with Hades." Athena spoke up after a moment, casting a glance in his direction. "Whoever stole Hestia clearly did not take into account the wrath of the Olympians. And Hades has tangled with it firsthand. I do not think he would be so foolish as to do so again."

Hades suppressed an indignant snort, irked by this jibe.

"But if Hades didn't take her," Hephaestus looked around the room at his fellow Olympians, "Who did?"

Miles away, six hundred stories below, a girl woke in a cold sweat with the realization that _something_ was brewing, both above . . . and below.

REYNA

"Hah!" Reyna shouted, pinning two helpless Greek demigods to the dirt of the training pitch. She had managed to get an Ares child to teach her how to wield two swords simultaneously, and after little practice by anyone's standards, Reyna was now an expert.

"I can't _wait_ till you guys leave." The left _Graecus_ grumbled, cooperatively refraining from squirming. He was a child of Hecate and utterly useless at weaponry of any kind.

"Romans." The Hypnos girl agreed from the right, then yawned widely. "Ah, well. That's enough for today. I think I'll go have a nap."

"But Vera," the boy replied, faintly surprised, "You just got up."

"Oh," Vera mumbled, already beginning to drift off, "Did I?"

Reyna released the two of them wordlessly, sheathing her swords, then exited the scene in search of a more challenging opponent.

What she found instead was a small, red harpy flapping about in the air.

"Reyna. Reyna Reyna!" Ella sang, landing on Reyna's head and shedding feathers all around. "Reyna come with Ella!"

"Good peanut-butter sandwiches this afternoon?" Reyna asked politely.

"With no cheese," Ella assured.

"Tyson does make good sandwiches," Reyna agreed, "But I'll be glad to get back to New Rome. Things here are so . . ." she trailed off, looking round at the sunlit Camp Half-Blood. Things here were so _lighthearted_. She wanted to say, as if they didn't take anything seriously.

Ella interrupted her thoughts, having taken a different track. "Rome! The harpy squawked, Rome! _For Rome, for Greece, for gods, for earth_."

"Ella." Reyna stopped abruptly, causing sand to fly into her sandals. "That sounded a bit too much like the beginning of a prophecy." She swallowed, having heard several prophecies in her time.

"_For Rome, for Greece, for gods, for earth." _Ella repeated, _"Beware the dark, avenge the hearth."_

"Did you read that in the Sibylline Books?"

"Books!" Ella replied happily, "Books are good for harpies." Then, "Peanut-butter sandwiches are good for harpies. Cheese is not good for harpies. Cheese. American, Asiago, Baby Bell, Blue, Brie, Cheddar . . ."

"Do you know where Frank is?" Reyna asked, wanting to consult her fellow praetor.

"Frank Sinatra." Ella began, "Born: December twelfth, 1915. Died: May fourteenth, 1998. American singer, actor, director and producer . . ."

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**I love ella she's so cute**

**-oldsoul**


	3. Council

**chapter 3! enjoy. review. thank you.**

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REYNA

"Are you _sure_ it was a prophecy?" Frank asked for the third time, biting his thumbnail.

"It definitely sounded like one." Reyna replied darkly. "Didn't it?"

"Well, yeah." Frank conceded reluctantly, then glanced at Ella, who was busy cleaning between her toes. "Ella," he asked hesitantly, "Could you repeat that one more time?"

Ella looked up. "_For Rome, for Greece, for gods, for earth. Beware the dark, avenge the hearth. By death, by scorn will heroes fall. Or night and strife envelop all." _She recited, before turning back to her foot and dislodging a particularly bothersome bit of sand from between claw and toe.

"Do you think . . ." Frank started, "Do you think we should talk to Chiron?"

"No!" Reyna hissed, and her ferocity forced Frank back a pace. "You have to understand, Frank. We are _Romans_. We don't go crying to the _Graecus _for help. Maybe you don't get it because you spent so much time with –" she breathed and ran over the name quickly "Percy – and Annabeth and Piper and Leo. But the Romans and the Greeks will always be separated, two different things entirely. That is how it has always been, and how it always will be."

Frank nodded quickly. "Yeah – Yeah you're right."

"In a few days," Reyna continued, "The annual festival will be over and we will return to Camp Jupiter. There we can discuss the prophecy, but until then we should . . . enjoy our last days here."

"You're the Roman counselors, then?"

Reyna swore silently to herself as she whipped around – she should have heard anyone creeping up behind her.

There stood two boys behind Reyna and Frank, gangly and grinning. They looked as though they were the same person except that one was a few inches shorter than the other. Identical arched eyebrows and sharp noses gave them away as children of Mercury – er, Hermes. That explained why they'd been able to sneak up on her, then.

"Yes." Reyna replied rather haughtily, regaining her composure, "We are _praetors _of the Romans. And if you'll excuse us we were –"

"Oh, pardonusus praetorus" The taller one smirked in a mock bow, "We'll just tell Chiron you were too busy snogging to come to the meeting then."

"Hey!" Frank yelped, turning a magnificent shade of scarlet, "I have a girlfriend!"

"Hazel Levesque." Ella supplied, "Status: Demigod. Godly parent: Pluto. Hair: caramel. Eyes: brown. Height –"

"Yes!" Frank gasped, "That's her!"

Reyna bristled, partly at the touchy subject of significant others, and partly because of the fun that had been poked at both the Latin language and the praetors of Rome.

"Keep your knickers on, praetor." The shorter one grinned, noticing Reyna's icy aura and Frank's wild gesturing, "We're just the messengers. Chiron's called a meeting of the head counselors and he wants the two of you there."

"You don't want to miss it." The other one added, "Clarisse is in a snit after what we did to her heavy metal albums this morning."

"What would that be?" Frank asked tentatively, turning to follow the boys towards the Big House.

"Exchanged them for Vocaloid."

Reyna didn't know what Vocaloid was, but obviously it had been enough to cause the horrible ruckus that had erupted from Cabin Five that morning.

Inside the rec room of the Big House there were gathered several teens around a rather drab-looking ping-pong table. As the two boys crossed the threshold, one of the girls started from her chair, a snarl pasted on her features.

This, Reyna assumed, was Clarisse LaRue, whom she hadn't yet seen without armor on her body and a spear at her side. The girl was tall and well-muscled, like any Ares child, and her stringy hair was gathered in a sloppy ponytail that hung limply down her back.

"You filthy maggots!" Clarisse hissed. She looked like she wanted to elaborate quite a bit on that in a more colorful manner, then seemed to remember that Chiron was in the room and thought better of it. "Hatsune Miku is waiting for you in the Fields of Punishment." She promised, before sitting back down again and proceeding to glare at whatever happened to be in front of her.

"Well," Chiron spoke from the head of the ping-pong table after it became evident that Clarisse had said her bit, "Now that everyone's here we can get started. Reyna, Frank, these are our head counselors. One from each cabin except Hermes, for which we have two."

"Two too many if you ask me." Clarisse mumbled with a scathing look towards the smirking brothers.

"Thank you, Miss LaRue, that will do." Chiron cut in pointedly. Then, "Counselors, these are the praetors of Camp Jupiter, Reyna and Frank."

"Now _that_'s out of the way," a boy who Reyna recognized as Will Solace began from the corner of the ping-pong table, "Let's talk about the prophecy."

Reyna shared a glance with Frank which did not pass by Chiron without notice.

"Something wrong, praetors?" he asked with the patronizing tone of one who knows exactly what is going on but still wants to hear it said.

"No." Reyna replied rather quickly. Frank, who had been about to say something, closed his mouth. She relaxed, then gestured to Will. "Please, continue."

"Last night Rachel delivered a prophecy outside the Hermes cabin." Will stated formally, "_For Rome, for Greece, for gods, for earth. Beware the dark, avenge the hearth. By death, by scorn will heroes fall. Or. . ." _he sought to remember the last line.

"_Or night and strife envelop all._" Frank supplied quietly, ignoring Reyna's furious glance.

Will looked momentarily surprised and then nodded. "Yeah. That's right."

"So you Romans got the prophecy too then?" Pollux, the lone camper in Dionysus's cabin, asked carefully.

Frank nodded, "Ella delivered it to Reyna this morning."

"And you didn't tell us?" Clarisse asked coldly, "Is Camp Jupiter turning against us again?"

"Sorry to disappoint you Clarisse," Reyna answered with equal iciness, "We bear no ill will to Camp Half-Blood. But Rome's business is Rome's business, why should we have to report our every breath to you?"

"In case you haven't noticed," Annabeth cut in from beside Percy, "The prophecy mentions both Rome _and_ Greece. And that is why you are here, Reyna. Not because we Greeks seek your advice, but because we believe it is your right to know about a prophecy that concerns you."

"Enough." Reyna felt the charmspeak wash over her and instantly felt more relaxed, the tension leaving her. "Bickering won't get us anywhere." Piper added less forcefully with reproachful looks at Reyna, Clarisse, and Annabeth.

"As I was saying," Will said after a pause, "Rachel delivered the prophecy last night, and I guess Ella this morning. Now the question is, what does it _mean_?"

There was a long silence. Then Clarisse tapped her finger on the arm of her chair. "I had a dream last night."

Reyna listened as Clarisse explained her dream, noticing how Chiron's face darkened more with each passing moment. By the time the girl had finished, his hooves were tapping restlessly on the floor.

"I am afraid," Chiron said slowly, "that we will do nothing until we have more information on the matter. I will speak to Dionysus tomorrow." He turned to leave as Clarisse leaped up.

"But –"

"The decision is final, Clarisse!"

And that was that.

HERMES

Hermes tapped the butt of his staff against the marble floor, winged shoes fluttering at his heels. Martha hissed at the unwelcome jolting and George flicked his tongue.

"Well?" Zeus's eyebrows seemed to have become permanently fixed in a severe manner over the past few days, and his beard twitched as he spoke.

"From what my sources have gathered," Hermes flicked a tongue across his lips nervously, "Her aura radiates from the darkest depths of Tartarus. That is all that we know for sure."

"Nyx!" Zeus snarled, beginning to pace, "The –"

"We don't know that for sure, father." Hermes reminded him. It went in one ear and out the other.

"Of course it's her!" Zeus snapped, "Who else would be so delusional?!"

"Kronos?" Hermes ventured doubtfully.

"Too weak." Zeus answered. He was beginning to cool now, and go rather quiet. It was the calm before the storm, "And he has felt my wrath twice now. He would not risk it again. No, only Nyx is confident enough to try _that_."

"She has overestimated herself." Martha added venomously from the staff.

"That she has." Zeus was putting on his pinstriped jacket, a sure sign that he was getting down to business.

"I'll gather the Olympians for battle." Hermes promised, "We will descend into Tartarus at once."

"No," Zeus corrected, "_I_ will descend into Tartarus. The rest of you will wait here for my and Hestia's return. I should be back in a couple of days at most." He turned his back and proceeded towards the elevator that would take him to the lobby of the Empire State Building.

"But father, your power is weakened the further you go from Olympus!" Hermes protested, running after him.

"It is more than enough to deal with Nyx." His father replied ominously, silver hair flapping behind him.

And then he was gone.

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**yay for evilnyx!**

**-oldsoul**


	4. Quest

**ooh yay, another chapter of all talk, no action. enjoy, review, thank you**

NICO

Twenty-four hours after their meeting, the head counselors and praetors were gathered once more in the rec room of the big house. Chiron was again pacing at the head of the ping-pong table with a solemn expression. No-one smiled. Leo and the Stoll brothers, always ready with a joke, were silent and straight-faced.

"_For Rome, for Greece, for gods, for earth." _Chiron recited, pausing to run his hand over the edge of the table. "The very world is at stake." He explained, "Gods and mortals alike, demigods or no." He allowed his dark gaze to rack over each of them. Nico stared back steadily, being no stranger to piercing gazes.

"This," Chiron went on, "Is massive." Nico saw Clarisse chewing the inside of her cheek, a habit she thought nobody noticed but which Nico had picked up on long ago. "This is not Gaea we are talking about, it is not the extermination of the gods we risk. It is the extermination _of_ _the world as we know it. _And that, my friends, is only the first line."

"What about the other lines of the prophecy?" Jason ventured. Nico watched the contraction of his muscle as he squeezed Piper's hand under the table.

"_Beware the dark, avenge the hearth_." Reyna supplied.

Percy shifted from the corner nearest Chiron. "That bit is obvious. The dark is Nyx, and the hearth is Hestia. We have to venture into Nyx's lair and take back Hestia."

This was met with an uncomfortable silence. All of them knew Percy was right, yet nobody wanted to admit it.

"I thought Bac—I mean Dionysus said_ Zeus _was going to rescue Hestia." Frank said uncertainly, "and what could a couple of demigods do against Nyx anyway?"

"You underestimate yourself, Frank." Chiron answered, "Gaea was brought down, and so was Kronos. Zeus, I am afraid, may require. . .assistance on this matter."

"So we demigods will have to go on a quest." Clarisse realized, her eyes glinting.

"Patience, Clarisse." Chiron chided, "We're only halfway through the prophecy."

"The next line." Annabeth offered, "_By death, by scorn will heroes fall_."

They dwelled on this for a few moments before Leo Piped up from the tail end of the ping-pong table, "_Last_ time they said someone was gonna die, nobody really died." He gestured to himself with a grease-smudged finger.

Travis nodded. "Bad boy supreme, back in black. Geddit? Cuz he's so dirty all the time." He smirked at Clarisse, "_Back in Black, _geddit?"

"That's the lamest thing since diet nectar and the ambrosia-lite movement." Clarisse snarled, not taking kindly to this assault on her music taste.

Conner shook his head, "Gotta agree with Clarisse on this one, bro. Of all the crazy song titles out there, you go for _Back in Black?!"_

Nico was tempted to snap at the three of them to shut up, but he knew dumb jokes were only their way of dealing with stress, as cold silence was his own way. And stress levels were skyrocketing right about now.

"Even if cheating death is an option," Will cut in, "And I'm not saying it is, what about the _scorn_ part?"

"For saving the known world," Chiron answered, "I'd say dignity is a small price to pay." He looked round at everyone again, as though seriously hoping nobody thought otherwise.

"As for the last line," Piper's face was stony, "_Or night and strife envelop all. _That much is clear. Nyx intends to overthrow our parents and reign the world herself if we don't stop her."

Nico realized that he knew exactly what Mr. D would have said if he'd been there.

_Idiotic fools_, he'd say, _only a suicidal maniac would stand out against Nyx and hope to live. See, this is why I hate heroes. Glory-drunken rats, all of them. Take that Peter Johnson boy for example. . ._

"So a quest it is then!" Clarisse declared, the rest of the prophecy out of the way.

"Hold up," Annabeth's voice was quiet, but the amount of darkness that had taken over it brought everyone to silence. "There's one _teensy_ little problem." She shared a glance with Percy.

"Nyx lives in Tartarus." Her boyfriend finished. "So I suggest everyone wanting to volunteer think over that line about death very seriously."

Tartarus. That word was poison to Nico. It brought memories to the surface of his mind. Memories he had been forcing into the deepest, darkest depths of his conscience since this whole Nyx affair had begun. Of course, he had known from the beginning that Nyx had lived in Tartarus. That a quest would mean going down into the mouth of the darkest evil there was, but he had convinced himself that it was not important, because he would not be volunteering for a quest anyway.

Fire flashed, images seared onto the insides of his eyelids, and the burning acid of the River Phlegethon rose in his throat. Despite the safety of Camp Half-Blood and his fellow demigods, Nico began to tremble.

Piper, sitting beside him, placed a cool hand on his knee. "Relax." She whispered under her breath. Never had Nico been so grateful for the control her words had over him as his body ceased the horrid shaking and the dreaded memories sunk once again into the darkness from whence they came.

"A quest . . ." Chiron mused, "Only three then. . ."

"I'll go." Nico had hardly realized he'd spoken until the words came tumbling unceremoniously out of his mouth, and all pairs of eyes were blinking at him. Hell, only seconds ago the kid had been shaking like a leaf at the very mention of Tartarus, now he was volunteering for a field trip?

_Great Zeus, what have I signed up for?_

"If we're going below the surface, I'm the best person to navigate. It's a . . . natural talent." He explained. Not only that, Nico felt a _need_ to go, he realized. Ever since that Capture the Flag game two weeks ago, he'd felt the pull, like a giant magnet, towards the Underworld. Towards Tartarus.

"Me too – I'll go too."

If Nico had looked to his right he might have seen one of Piper's eyebrows lift slightly, at any other time a small grin might've accompanied it. But he was instead looking to the left, towards Will.

"_I_ got the prophecy." Will reminded them a trifle defensively after a pause, "By right, I oughta be the leader."

"I got the dream! I should go!" Clarisse added, to no-one's surprise.

"No." Reyna broke in tightly. Clarisse glowered. "You will need a Roman representative. After all, this quest is for both of our people. I will go."

Nico noticed that neither Percy nor Annabeth had volunteered for a happy adventure into Tartarus. In fact, Annabeth had turned slightly pale and Percy was clutching her hand tightly. He did not blame them in the slightest.

"It is decided then." Chiron nodded, "Will Solace, son of Apollo will lead this quest, accompanied by Nico DiAngelo, son of Hades, and Reyna Ramirez-Arellano, daughter of Bellona. It is your mission to assist Zeus in restoring the goddess Hestia to her rightful place on Olympus, and to stop the goddess Nyx from wreaking havoc on Olympus, Earth, and the Underworld. I leave the rest," he gestured with his hand, "To you."

"We'll leave tomorrow morning." Will determined, "Nico, Reyna, make sure you pack a lotta ambrosia."

"But – but _I had the dream_!" Clarisse spluttered angrily, "How come I'm not on the quest?!"

"Shut it Clarisse." Annabeth said firmly, "By the time all of this is over, you'll be glad you aren't"

CLARISSE

Clarisse LaRue, daughter of Ares, renowned for her ferocity and strength, was seriously annoyed. She was _not_ about to be upstaged by an idiotic squirt who liked dumb haikus, a gloomy fourteen-year-old who seemed more dead than alive, and that _prat_ of a Roman who called herself the child of a war goddess.

Clarisse had decided on something that would set things straight. And she refused to call it the _Percy Jackson Route._

She was going on a quest. _Without_ the stinking blessing of the Oracle. She had also reassembled the head counselors. _Without_ Chiron's stinking permission.

And so she waited on the beach, the climbing wall popping and hissing in the background. Several of the counselors had already arrived; they were just waiting on a few more.

Travis sauntered up alone. He looked strangely small without the company of the younger Stoll, and was wearing an uncharacteristic glower. Piper raised her eyebrows.

"I didn't realize Conner had turned invisible."

"Oh, he hasn't." Clarisse smirked. Travis scowled irritably at her.

"The Satyrs say he's gonna be in the infirmary for a week at least." He snapped.

"Let's call it revenge for the Vocaloid incident, yes?" Clarisse suggested with a little too much relish.

"A week, even with ambrosia?" Leo asked, "Bit harsh, dontcha think, Clarisse?"

"Kid deserves it for all the crap they've pulled on me." Clarisse muttered. She's never admit it, but the truth was that she'd never really meant to hurt him that badly. Clarisse and Conner had been sparring in the amphitheater that morning and she'd quite accidentally stabbed him in the thigh with Maimer. She'd expected the stupid kid to dodge, but well, that's what you get for overestimating people. She tried not to think of it as a bad omen for her quest.

"But I digress." She snapped back to attention as she saw Annabeth and Percy approaching, and someone she didn't recognize with them. But Jason did.

"Leila!" he grinned, waving to the girl, who waved back. Even without looking to closely, Clrisse could see the SPQR tattoo on her arm and her brow furrowed in discontent. "What's _she_ doing here?"

"Reyna was right." Annabeth answered upon arrival, "If you're going on a quest, Romans deserve some part of it."

"Who said anything about a quest?!" Clarisse shot, annoyed that she had been so obvious.

"You're not that hard to read, Clarisse." Annabeth rolled her eyes, "And a friendly welcome _you_ bring to the table."

"It's _my_ quest." She snarled, "_I'll_ decide whether we need Romans or not. Which we don't."

"Oh come on! You haven't even met her yet!"

"Jeez you two." Leo broke in, "Go ahead and make the girl feel like she's not here, will ya?"

"Give her a chance. Jason knowns her." Piper added. Forcefully.

"You!" Clarisse pointed accusingly at Piper, "Will you _stop_ that charmspeak crap? I don't like being controlled."

"Who gave you the right to boss her around?" Jason jumped to his girlfriend's defense.

"There's this thing called Freedom of Speech, Airhead, or maybe they don't have that in _Rome_."

"Well _maybe_ –"

"All of you shut up!" Piper snapped, using the wretched charmspeak again. Nonetheless, Clarisse didn't feel the need to say anything more. "Now relax."

Clarisse relaxed and allowed herself to feel calmer.

"Alright then." Piper turned to the newcomer, speaking normally again as she stuck out her hand, "I'm Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite."

"Leila Troy, daughter of Ceres." The girl shook Piper's hand once up and down. Her voice was soft and her form petite and a little shapeless, and she looked about Nico's age. She had olive skin with a spattering of freckles over her nose, but her most striking feature was her curly hair, which was tied up in a ponytail and dyed a shocking shade of lavender.

Clarisse didn't know much about Romans, but she did know that all the ones she'd met were pretty stony and disciplined, and she also knew that no child of Demeter would dye her hair – they all believed in organic material and _al naturel._

"Right." Clarisse took charge again before Piper could dominate the situation too much. "As Annabeth said, I'm going on a quest to get Hestia back from Tartarus. _I_ got the dream, so it's not fair that I couldn't go officially. Whether you idiots are coming or not, I don't care, but you can come if you want as long as you obey _my_ commands. Clear?"

The rest of the counselors chewed this over in their minds for a minute. To Clarisse's surprise, Leila was the first to volunteer.

"If I don't go, you won't have any Romans to protect you sissies from the monsters." She grinned with a wink. Clarisse considered this. Sure, Romans were a pain in general, and this one was built like a daffodil . . . but she _had_ been the first to volunteer, so maybe she did have some steel in her. And a sense of humor besides.

"Alright." She decided, "Anyone else?"

"Me." Travis said after a moment.

"_You?_" Clarisse asked, a little surprised.

"The mission is to steal back Hestia." Travis explained. He looked at Clarisse and pointed to himself. "Thief." He said.

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Yeah whatever. But if I catch you pulling any more AC/DC jokes you're out."

"Deal."

"I think you should take Malcom." Annabeth spoke up, "You'll need an Athenian demigod to keep you crazies straight down there. I already asked him if he was willing to go and he agreed."

"You're not volunteering yourself?" Clarisse smirked, "Afraid, Annabeth?"

Annabeth shuddered slightly next to Percy. "Yes." She replied quietly, "I'm afraid."

And Clarisse was smart enough to know that when Annabeth Chase was afraid, she usually had a good reason.

**okay. Leila is not an OC. I promise. if you read BoO she shows up as a centurion of the fifth cohort. however, we know very little about her so i'm really just making her up as I go along. so yeah she's kinda an OC. sorry.**

**-oldsoul**


	5. Granite

**heh...heheh...hehehahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA-MUAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**enjoy. review. thank you.**

* * *

WILL

"You're _sure_ you can make it?" Will asked, clasping Nico's arm while Reyna held onto Nico's opposite shoulder.

"I think so." Nico replied, "I can get us within a few miles at least."

"Still," Reyna added, "It's a long way across the Atlantic, not to mention the Mediterranean as well. And remember what happened when you tried to transport the Parthenos? You nearly turned into a ghost."

"Not ghost," Nico corrected irritably, "_shadow_. And I'll be fine. I'm a lot stronger now than I was then. I've been practicing, too."

"I still don't understand why we can't just go through the Underworld." Will grumbled, "Your dad would probably help us and you wouldn't have to exhaust yourself."

"I told you already, the House of Hades is closer to Nyx's lair than the Underworld entrance. And the less distance we have to travel in Tartarus, the better. And remember," Nico finished, "_Don't let go._"

Will watched the scrawny boy beside him, saw him take a deep breath, scrunch his eyes shut . . . and then he felt like he'd slammed into a brick wall. He was surrounded by darkness, there was pressure bearing down on all sides, he was going to be squished and juiced like an orange. Will's only tie to the known world was his hand on Nico's elbow, and he clung to it like as though clinging to life itself.

What felt like an eternity in that dark tunnel was probably only a minute or so, and when everything stopped and the light returned, Will gasped, coughed a little, and then took a moment to catch his breath. Reyna, being Reyna, had recovered shortly before Will, but Nico was on the ground, chest heaving.

It was raining in Epirus. It was also colder than a troll's bottom, to quote his grandfather (a cranky geezer who refused to speak anything other than his native language; German). Will's orange t-shirt was already soaked through and his hair hung in dripping strings as he made his way towards Nico, shivering.

"Alright?" he asked, reaching out to help him up. Nico's small hand wrapped around Will's as he pulled himself to his feet. His fingers, Will noticed, were like ice.

"That way." Reyna pointed, and Will followed her gaze towards a small town at the bottom of the hill they were on.

Will did not like getting dirty. So when he arrived at the bottom of the hill, wearing more mud than shoes, with several smears over his clothing, having tasted the earth of Epirus, and freezing besides, he was not the least bit amused.

"Before we go into Tartarus," he proposed, "let's find a place for a hot shower and fish-and-chips."

Reyna nodded. "We should get our strength up. Especially you, Nico."

"I'm fine." Nico mumbled, but Will could see that the guy could use a nap.

There weren't many cars on the main road into town, and the few they did spot were obviously in a rush to get out of the rain and weren't interested in stopping for a few kids to hitchhike a ride.

"There!" Reyna spotted it first.

The sign read "THE GRANITE LADY'S BED &amp; BREAKFAST" and a smaller sign in the window said "VACANCIES"

The bedraggled demigods wasted no time in dashing to the door and ringing the bell, huddling on the porch where they were out of the downpour for once.

After a moment, the front door opened revealing a dark interior, where a woman stood holding it open. She said something Will couldn't understand, then said it again. When it became clear that this was not getting through, she tried again.

"English maybe? You speak English? Come in, come in, please, out of the rain." Her accent was thick, but her voice soft and kind. The three shuffled in, murmuring thanks. As Will's eyes adjusted, he saw that the woman was tall and very pretty. She had flawless skin and a shapely nose, and her hair was tucked under a long beanie. Her eyes were a startling blue.

"Come in, please." She repeated, "Welcome. Do not worry about making a mess in the entrance hall," she added, noticing the puddles collecting around their feet. "My, you are unfortunate to be caught out in such horrid weather. But I am certain the rain will stop soon."

A second woman now entered the scene. She looked a little older than the first, and seemed to be the proud owner of an enormously piled hairdo. A pair of dark glasses rested on her nose and she seemed to focus on a spot on the wall; she was blind.

"You haven't introduced yourself, Stephanie." She chided in the general direction of the younger, who smiled apologetically as she addressed the demigods.

"I have been rude," she said, forgive me. I am Stephanie, and this is my older sister Elyon. And what might your names be?"

"I'm Reyna." Said Reyna shortly, then nodded to Nico, "Nico, and that's Will."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Elyon nodded. Her accent was less pronounced than Stephanie's as she went on. "I assume you'll all be wanting a shower and some clean clothes – I can hear you dripping. There are bathrooms upstairs but we don't have many spare clothes and I don't think you boys will be wearing any of mine or Stephanie's."

"We've got our own spare clothes," Will answered, "But the shower sounds good."

….

Noticeably drier and with a clean brown polo to replace his soaked camp t-shirt, Will made his way back downstairs, noticing that the puddles in the entrance hall had since been cleaned up, and that the rain had indeed stopped as Stephanie had predicted and the sun was now shoving its way out from between the clouds.

He could smell hot tea emanating from a room behind the dining area – the kitchen – and heard the kettle whistling like mad.

Reyna and Nico were already seated at a wooden table, steaming mugs in front of them. A cup of tea was then shoved into Will's hands and he was told to sit and have something to eat. The tea smelled funny, so he took a sip merely out of politeness and then set it quickly down on the table when the sharp bitterness stung his tongue.

"Not to your liking?" Stephanie laughed, noticing his badly hidden wince, "That is all right, our tea is not for everyone. It is good that it did not kill you, yes?"

"Kill me?" Will all but squeaked, having had too many close encounters with death for such comments.

"Merely my sense of humor, dear." Stephanie replied.

"Would you like some cranberry juice instead?" Elyon offered, opening the fridge. After receiving a response in the affirmative, she poured him a glass of the bright liquid.

"It is a lovely color, yes?" Elyon smiled with her teeth as she handed the glass to Will. "A beautiful red." His stomach dropped like a stone and he shared a swift glance with Reyna and Nico.

"Something wrong?" Stephanie asked, eyes flicking from one to another.

Reyna pointed to Elyon. "You," she said shakily, "Are supposed to be blind."

* * *

**want to take a guess anyone? who is Elyon really?**

**-oldsoul**


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